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Monthly Archives: April 2008

Bloggers Unite is an initiative designed to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. By challenging bloggers to blog about a particular social cause on a single day, a single voice can be joined with thousands of others to help make a real positive difference; from raising awareness for cancer, to an effort to better education systems or support 3rd world countries.

May marks the first anniversary of Bloggers Unite and BlogCatalog members are launching an awareness campaign chosen by . On May 15, we will unite for human rights and make a statement that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms – life, liberty, and justice!

On May 15th 2008, join us blog about Human Rights. There are dozens and dozens of human rights issues that you can write about. The one you choose is up to you.

Until July 13, 2008 Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember explores the history of disabled people in Canada. A display of thirteen diverse objects reveals a rich and nuanced story that pays tribute to the resilience, creativity, and the civic and cultural contributions of Canadians with disabilities.

This is a review of Mark C. Weber’s book DISABILITY HARASSMENT. Weber’s work provides powerful evidence of an important but often unacknowledged form of intentional discrimination against people with disabilities. It also provides a doctrinal formulation by which to address this issue, as well as normative arguments for why we should. Weber’s work draws insight from social science research suggesting that discomfort and anxiety relating to disability can lead non-disabled people to deliberately stigmatize people with disabilities. Yet a growing body of legal and social science research suggests that the discomfort generated by minorities, women, and people with disabilities in the workplace also leads to less acknowledged, even unconscious forms of discrimination. Like the blunt disability harassment Weber discusses, courts and legislatures have found that this less blatantly recognized variant of discrimination is difficult to confront and address.

We therefore address invidious unconscious discrimination in this Review Essay by making the case for why people with psycho-social (also called, mental) disabilities, who are largely considered to be among the most stigmatized individuals, should and can be integrated into the workplace. In doing so, our assertions go beyond legal protections to argue that occupationally integrating individuals with mental disabilities is also beneficial for their co-workers without disabilities.

Part I of this Review Essay sets forth Weber’s thesis, arguments, and conclusions regarding disability-based harassment. Part II briefly overviews the influence of deeply embedded unconscious discrimination, especially as it affects occupational participation by minority groups, including people with disabilities. Next, Part III provides an initial treatment of why people with mental disabilities normatively should and practically can be incorporated into the workforce. In doing so, we highlight some of the less currently appreciated benefits of integrating these workers. We conclude with a few thoughts on how incorporating individuals with psycho-social disabilities may be seen as part of the overall dynamic of increasing flexibility in the evolving workplace, including some advantages that redound to their non-disabled peers.

Welcome to the WhatSortsOfPeople blog! Here you will find discussions of science and technology, disability, health and medicine, transhumanism, the ethics and politics of reproduction, the eugenic past, psychiatry and mental illness, race, gender, ethnicity, and science, and whatever else strikes our collective fancy. Like this report from the frontlines of where science meets religion.

You might also check out comments #492 and #967, for my pick of the comments in the first 24 hours or so. For those wanting more, check out Greg Laden’s blog, which provides a metareview of the life of this story in the blogsphere.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit the LIving Archives on Eugenics Website.
This blog is the combined effort of a team of researchers and community members working around the world in different disciplines to address concerns around human variation, normalcy, eugenics, and enhancement.